Hello: What an interesting analysis of Goan identity in the diaspora! The Newtonian metaphor for the fusion of cultural identity not only lends this analysis a scientific base but also reinforces and upholds the ongoing process of acculturation and assimilation of mankind's voyage on earth.
Goans, of course, are not the only people who are affected by this process. Immigrants in the U.S. and Canada have been acculturized by this process over many generations. On July 1 Canadians will celebrate Canada's 136th birthday; I myself landed here in 1967 during Canada's centennial year. Canada, except for the aboriginal and native peoples, is a land of immigrants from all over the world, changing and assimilating in a Newtonian fashion and fission, forging an identity of multilateral viewpoints and perspectives. I am pleased to note that Santosh went as far into the past as he did, because my own innate understanding has been that the first migrants into Goa were Dravidians from the south, not Aryans from the north. Also, the year 10000 B.C. falls within the time zone of the Biblical narrative of Moses and the Israelites in Egypt. Like the wandering Jew and the Chinese, Goans have migrated to every corner of this globe and, in doing so, have enriched their identity and culture, in the broadest meaning of these terms. Santosh observes that "divine ownership of land in Goa, for example, was most likely brought in by the people of Sumer. Thus, the countless instances of blending of Portuguese influences into our collective behavior as a people, are merely the vestiges of the latest major collision with inwardly motile migrants in Goa." I would like to say that the Portuguese influence, although of a long duration, was not as deep-seated and far-ranging as is commonly believed. It affected only a certain layer of society as far as language and higher education was concerned. Secondly, the people in Goa today are undergoing another transformation of Newtonian imperative, brought on by Liberation in 1961. Thanks, Santosh, for that engaging analysis and perspective on Goan culture and identity. They are also Goans who only think and write. Ben ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get A Free Psychic Reading! Your Online Answer To Life's Important Questions. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Lj3uPC/Me7FAA/ySSFAA/tr8qlB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
